Chapter 16: Claire’s POV
Chapter 16: Claire’s POV
Leonardo and I rushed downstairs to see what prompted Charlotte’s scream. We rush into the living room to find Charlotte sitting in her chair alone and unharmed.
“Is everything okay, Charlotte?” Leo asks as he examined the room and her.
“I was just sitting here thinking of how nice it was to meet Matthew when I noticed my ring was missing. He must’ve stolen it when he shook my hand.” She’s accusing Matthew of stealing? Matthew may be many things but a thief wasn’t one of them.
“Are you sure?” Leo asked as Charlotte showed him her hand where a faint tan showed where the ring
had been.
“Yes, it was right here!” She points to the finger where it normally sat.
I stand there in disbelief and decide the best thing to do was call Matthew and see what happened.
Matthew answered joyfully.
“Hey Claire, what can I do for you?”
“Matthew, tell me the truth. Did you steal
Charlotte’s ring?” I ask firmly while I stand in the
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Chapter 16: Claire’s POV
same room as Leo and Charlotte.
“I wouldn’t say steal. Charlotte asked why I was there and I told her I needed money for a bind I was in. After hearing about my situation, she offered me the ring to help pay my debts. I tried to say no but she took it off, put it in my hand and said she wouldn’t accept no for an answer. So I took it.”
“She gave it to you?” Confusion was an understatement.
“Yeah, I’m not a thief.”
“Matthew, I need you to return it. You can’t take that ring.” I knew where this was going. What I didn’t know was why Charlotte would ‘give‘ my brother a ring and then accuse him of theft.
“That’s not possible.”
What?!
“And why not?” I’m trying to compose myself and speak calmly but I was losing it internally.
“Well I went right to my creditor and handed it over to him as payment to clear my debts. I can’t get it back.”
Why would he take the ring from her? He didn’t
know her.
“I’ll call you back Matthew.” I wanted to talk about
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Chapter 16: Claire’s POV
this further but I could hear Charlotte crying just
behind me.
“We should call the police! I want him thrown in jail!” Charlotte tells Leo between sobs.
“That’s a little cruel, don’t you think?” I ask without a second thought as I turn around.
“Claire! Have some decency! Your brother stole her ring!” Leo says as he stands from kneeling at Charlotte’s side.
“I asked Matthew and he says that Charlotte insisted he take the ring to clear his debts. He tried to refuse but she literally put the ring in this hand.” I say as I point to Charlotte. I was not going to be blamed for insensitivities when she was lying directly in my husband’s face.
“Oh and he didn’t come here with the intention of blackmailing and extorting me for money?
Nonetheless before we even entered the front door!” Leo was furious as my refusal to believe Charlotte.
“He may be a gambler and a beggar but Matthew isn’t a thief!” I stand firm on my belief. If Matthew was a thief – he wouldn’t have to resort to begging and blackmailing. “There were millions of things for him to pit–pocket in this house. He didn’t need to take Charlotte’s ring.”
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“Claire, you can’t seriously believe he didn’t do this!” Leo was in shock but I knew that Matthew’s version of the truth was far closer to the actual
truth than Charlotte’s.
“Claire, maybe we can come to a resolution that doesn’t involve the police. I can see how much you want to protect Matthew.” She smiles softly as me and I know this isn’t going to go well.
“That seems like a wonderful idea Charlotte. What did you have in mind?” Leo says as he places a hand gently on her shoulder. Funny. I had Jordan’s hand on my shoulder for just a moment and Leo nearly had a stroke but he’s doing this in front of my face after he tried to fix our anniversary with his enormous gift.
“What do you want?” I say reluctantly.
“Maybe you could be my nanny and help take care of me while I’m here? You could move back in for a while.”
Move back in? I left with the intention of figuring out my next move after asking my husband for a divorce. A divorce that I needed after watching him constantly choose Charlotte over me. Even on our anniversary where I planned to tell him I was pregnant with his child.
“That sounds like a fine resolution.” Leo smiles as
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Chapter 16: Claire’s POV
he agrees with Charlotte. He wanted me back in the house. He had made that clear when I arrived with
his demeanor.
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